Trump Should Be Removed from Office

On Jan. 6, 2021, a group of rioters stormed the Capitol building after being encouraged by President Donald Trump to protest his lost election. His words and actions, before and during these riots, intentionally incited violence against his own government. President Trump’s actions were reckless, indefensible and ultimately a petty attempt to overturn an election he had clearly lost. For these reasons, he must be removed from office either through use of the 25th Amendment or through impeachment.

Trump must be removed from office because he must be held accountable for the role that he, as president, played in the insurrection. According to National Public Radio, not only did Trump encourage the rioters to march on the Capitol, he also praised them as special for doing so. In effect, he has motivated and validated a vicious response to the election, while ignoring the casualties of what said response would bring. As a direct result of the violence and chaos that he intentionally fostered among these rioters, police officer Brian D. Sicknick, air force veteran Ashli Babbitt, and civilians Benjamin Phillips, Kevin Greeson and Rosanne Boyland’s lives were lost. Removing him from office is the only way to show that such recklessness in an American leader will not be tolerated.

Trump’s actions are indefensible. On top of his intentional sowing of distrust in the election results, according to the Washington Post, he also attempted to pressure Georgia’s secretary of state Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to turn the state’s election in his favor. Through his inflammatory rhetoric and this phone call, it is evident that President Trump hopes to remain in power despite having lost a fair election. In the past few months, he has worked to turn his supporters against the United State’s democratic process and thus poses a significant threat to the nation.

The insurrection at the Capitol was a blatant display of disregard to democracy, all based on Trump’s false accusations of a rigged election. His removal from office would not only set a precedent for future presidents, but would also serve as a clear warning to the rioters that their actions were unacceptable. Moreover, if Trump is impeached by the House of Representatives and then convicted by the Senate, the Senate also has the option to permanently bar him from holding office in the future. The potential for this to occur and prevent America from enduring another election or term under Trump outweighs the necessary effort that must be made to remove him.